ALI (R) -- B Michael Mann's ambitious portrayal of former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is as elusive as its subject. Will Smith is good enough as Ali, but Mann's inability to deconstruct the myth of sports' most important figure leaves us hanging. (Simmons) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
AMELIE (R) -- B+
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (co-director of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children) presents this unashamedly joyous and cheeky story of a young woman (Audrey Tautou ... or is that Hepburn?) who invests her energy in everyone else's happiness but her own. In French with English subtitles. (Simmons) Canal Place
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (PG-13) -- B
Ron Howard's drama profiles a genius mathematician who struggles with mental illness. The picture offers another brilliant performance by Russell Crowe and fine supporting work by Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris. Crucial questions remain unanswered, and the film takes annoying liberties with facts both biographical and psychological, but its conclusion is as effectively moving as any in some time. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
BEHIND ENEMY LINES (PG-13) -- B-
Owen Wilson matches up well with all the pyrotechnics in this action flick about a downed fighter pilot in Bosnia. The beauty of Wilson is that he can be both cheeky and earnest, but first-time director John Moore suffers the usual case of jingo-itis and can't get enough of his rock 'n' roll soundtrack, bad bad guys and explosion-heavy action sequences. (Simmons) Palace 20
BLACK KNIGHT (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Martin Lawrence is a fast-talking hustler who is thrown back in time to the Middle Ages in order to wreak havoc in this comedy originally slated for Chris Tucker. Downtown Joy, Palace 16, Palace 20
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (PG-13) -- A
Director Chris Columbus plays it safe and allows J.K. Rowling's phenomenally popular story, a perfectly suited British cast and Industrial Light & Magic to provide the magic in this much-anticipated adaptation. (Jackson Bost) Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
HOW HIGH (R) -- NOT RATED
Rappers Redman and Method Man play two stoners whose consumption of the evil weed makes them so smart they're able to get into Harvard, where they are stripped of their herbal powers and must get by on their own wits. First-time directing effort by music-video director Jesse Dylan, son of Bob and brother of Jakob. Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE IMAX NUTCRACKER (G) -- B-
Moody and macabre, this 3D version of the holiday favorite is spun with more Cirque du Soleil than sugar plums. Sets are elaborate but claustrophobic, with some moments in the 40-minute film playing like a Hitchcockian nightmare sequence. (Tisserand) Entergy IMAX
THE IMPOSTOR (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
A weapons engineer (Gary Sinise) has a major identity crisis after discovering a weapon of mass destruction in this sci-fi thriller from Gary Fleder (Don't Say a Word). Madeleine Stowe (where's she been?) and Vincent D'Onofrio co-star. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
IN THE BEDROOM (R) -- NOT RATED
Character-actor-turned-director Todd Field racked up a slew of awards and nominations with this interior story of a couple (Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek) dealing with the tragic consequences of their son's affair with an older woman (Marisa Tomei). Among others, In the Bedroom scored Golden Globe nominations for best picture (drama) and for the performances of Spacek and Tomei. Canal Place, Palace 12
JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS (G) -- B-
The folks who brought us the pretty good movie Rugrats in Paris now unleash the pretty good adventures of a pint-sized brainiac who takes his pals to outer space to rescue their parents from egg-shaped aliens. (Tisserand) Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
JOE SOMEBODY (PG) -- NOT RATED
Single dad and company man Tim Allen challenges a bullying co-worker (Patrick Warburton) after getting his ass kicked over a parking space. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
KATE AND LEOPOLD (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
The Queen of the Romantic Comedy, Meg Ryan, falls for time-traveling 19th century hunk Hugh Jackman in this film by James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted). Co-stars Liev Schreiber and Breckin Meyer. Canal Place, Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
LIAM (R) -- NOT RATED
A stuttering 7-year-old boy (Anthony Burrows) struggles with his Catholic family against poverty in 1930s-era Liverpool in this latest film from the sometimes-brilliant Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity). Plaza
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PG-13) -- A
This first Lord of the Rings movie is better than fans of the books possibly could have imagined. Peter Jackson's masterful direction and devotion to Tolkien's tale create an epic of the highest order. Stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen. (Carlson) Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza, Prytania
THE MAJESTIC (PG) -- NOT RATED
Jim Carrey stars as a blacklisted writer who is mistaken for a World War II hero presumed dead in his hometown in this film by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption). Surprisingly not based on a Stephen King story or set in prison, this one from Darabont features an intriguing and veteran supporting cast that includes Martin Landau and Hal Holbrook. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
MONSTERS, INC. (G) -- B+
From the creators of Pixar (Toy Story, A Bug's Life) comes this easygoing animated tale of workmanlike monsters who bottle kids' screams (in their bedrooms at night) in order to provide needed energy. John Goodman and Billy Crystal are so good as the voices of Sully and Mike that they should consider the animation biz as a permanent gig. (Simmons) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE (R) -- NOT RATED
Not another parody movie!? Yep, with this one featuring first-time director Joel Gallen (who does short spoofs for MTV) and a ton of screenwriters, including two who did Scary Movie. Cast includes Randy Quaid and Paul Gleason and a ton of young actors. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
OCEAN'S ELEVEN (PG-13) -- B+
Steven Soderbergh's much-anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning Traffic and remake of the Rat Pack movie is quite a departure from both, and mostly in all the right ways. Soderbergh, one of the smoothest filmmakers on the planet, brings his own sense of cool to 2001's millionth heist movie. (Simmons) Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (R) -- A-
Director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore) progresses yet again with this scattered, frenetic ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family of geniuses (Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow among them) reunited by their manipulative father (Gene Hackman, in his best role of a busy year). One of the best films of 2001. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place, Palace 12
VANILLA SKY (R) -- C+
Playboy Tom Cruise learns the meaning of life, dreams and nightmares after falling for kooky Penelope Cruz in Cameron Crowe's (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) frazzled remake of the 1997 Spanish film Open Your Eyes. (Simmons) Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
